Minister Amichai Eliyahu of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) announced on Wednesday that he would vote against the legislation to adopt language of the Trump initiative – which led to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire – after it is introduced in the Knesset members for an official up-or-down vote.

Lapid (Yesh Atid) initiated the measure, stating, "I will bring a motion to the Knesset plenum for a vote on a resolution for the Knesset of Israel to accept and adopt the 20-point plan of United States President Donald Trump."

Lapid elaborated, "The entire Israeli people is grateful to President Trump for having led a courageous deal for the release of the Israeli hostages. We support President Trump and strengthen his hand in his efforts to implement the plan's stages. I expect all parties to vote in favor of the President's plan."

Minister Eliyahu told the radio station Galei Tzahal, "We will certainly vote against – if Lapid wants to embarrass the state, that's his business. A Palestinian state will not be established." The plan, however, includes a "path to the establishment of a Palestinian state."

The opposition previously embarrassed the government from the right last month when a bill to apply sovereignty was passed. Vice President JD Vance, who was visiting Israel at the time, criticized the move. Following the support of MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) for the move, which went against the directive of the Coalition, he was removed from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

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While ultra-Orthodox Knesset members signaled Wednesday they would accept no further delays in resolving the crisis over the Haredi conscription, Likud members remain confident that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees something else unfolding.

The speculation includes scenarios ranging from a partial hostage deal to a significant security event. Each of these scenarios could indeed ground to a halt any effort to dissolve the Knesset and hold a general election.

United Torah Judaism and Shas said Wednesday that a move to dissolve the Knesset could happen by agreement within hours, with party leaders declaring their intentions. United Torah Judaism pulling out of the Coalition will also lead Aryeh Deri following through with a similar decision on behalf of the Council of Torah Sages. If Netanyahu indeed fails to delay such a declaration from the parties in the coming hours, the date for Knesset dissolution approaches but not within days.

Only next week will a bill to dissolve the Knesset come up for preliminary reading, after the Opposition missed the opportunity to do so Wednesday. Senior United Torah Judaism officials said that if such a bill had been on the Knesset's docket Wednesday, there would have been no choice but to support it.

The continuation of legislation depends on House Committee Chairman Ofir Katz, who can delay the committee's continued writing of the bill. The Likud must lead to a delay of almost two months to survive the summer session. Meanwhile, Netanyahu will need a preliminary move to secure the ultra-Orthodox silence regarding the delay in dissolution, which could be sacrificing Yuli Edelstein's position as Foreign and Defense Committee chairman.

The end of the summer session is only July 27, meaning almost 50 days of survival in an active session – not an easy operational event for Likud.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders say that in a meeting Tuesday, Edelstein presented Moshe Gafni and Deri with a plan to impose sanctions on the entire ultra-Orthodox public that are far-reaching, and therefore Edelstein is already seen as standing in their way to a softened bill. However, in practice, Netanyahu still has to contend with many opponents to the bill within Likud and Religious Zionism, and these could increase the flames if Edelstein is replaced as chairman.

On Wednesday afternoon, Netanyahu's staff managed the crisis while he attended his trial in the Tel Aviv District Court. Ultra-Orthodox leaders, frustrated after Netanyahu requested they wait until 16:00 on Wednesday for his testimony to conclude, stated he had sufficient time to address the issue. The ultra-Orthodox public's growing restlessness is driving their leaders' urgency, leaving Likud to question whether Netanyahu has a final trump card to play or if the Coalition's dissolution began taking root during his court appearance.

The ultra-Orthodox public's impatience leads to their leaders' impatience, and now Likud wonders whether Netanyahu indeed has another ace up his sleeve or whether the buds of coalition dissolution have already been planted and sprouted while he was in cross-examination.

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Health maintenance organizations will be authorized to start vaccinating patients who have recovered from the coronavirus, the Health Ministry announced Monday.

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In its press release, the ministry said the decision would come into effect starting Tuesday. Israelis aged 16 and up will be able to receive their jabs three months after recovering. However, contrary to standard procedure, they will only receive one shot of the vaccine.

The ministry added that it had nevertheless instructed the health providers to focus the inoculation efforts on those aged 50 and more – a group where only 13% are yet to be vaccinated, as per the latest data. Also of priority are Israelis across all age groups who have not received a single vaccine shot yet.

On Tuesday, the ministry reported that of the 90,751 tests it conducted the day before, 4,624 came back positive.
There are currently 39,190 active coronavirus patients in the country. Some 1,198 Israelis are hospitalized, of whom 729 are in serious condition.

Israel has reported 781,857 cases and 5,779 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year. To date, 736,888 Israelis have recovered from the disease.

Data further shows that as of Tuesday, 4,772,078 Israelis have received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and 3,439,919 have been fully immunized.

Meanwhile, despite observing an increase in the infection rate in recent days, the government decided to go ahead with the next stage of the lockdown exit plan.

Beginning on Sunday, students in grades seven to 10 who live in "green" and "yellow" cities will return to studies at school. Small cafes and restaurants will be allowed to reopen without requiring visitors to present a vaccination or recovery certificate.

Those who possess a green passport will be able to attend large restaurants and hotels with prior reservations.
With the exception of "red" cities, Israelis will be able to gather up to 20 people indoors and 50 outdoors.

Health officials butted heads over easing the lockdown restrictions. Coronavirus chief Professor Nachman Ash proposed pausing the exit due to the rise in infection rate and the mass gatherings that took place on Purim, whereas Health Minister Yuli Edelstein insisted on continuing with the plan as scheduled.

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The ministry also expressed concern over the increase in infection rate and the forthcoming wedding season and Ramadan holiday in the Arab sector. In 2020, weddings and family meals were the leading cause of a severe COVID outbreak among this population.

In addition, the vaccination rate among Arabs is much lower relative to their number in the general public. Despite launching the vaccination campaign in Arabic, especially targeting the elderly Arab population, HMOs have had little success in getting them to the vaccination sites.

i24NEWS contributed to this report.

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Israel's swift vaccination rollout has made it the largest real-world study of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. Results are trickling in, and they are promising. Older and at-risk groups, the first to be inoculated, are seeing a dramatic drop in illnesses.

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Among the first fully-vaccinated group there was a 53% reduction in new cases, a 39% decline in hospitalizations and a 31% drop in severe illnesses from mid-January until Feb. 6, Eran Segal, a data scientist at the Weizmann Institute said.

Video: Reuters

More will be known in two weeks, as teams analyze vaccine effectiveness in younger groups of Israelis, as well as targeted populations such as people with diabetes, cancer, and pregnant women.

More than a third of the population, 3,683,826 Israelis, have been fully vaccinated, 2,325,792 have been inoculated with the first dose.

Meanwhile, 5,540 Israelis have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Health Ministry reported Thursday morning. There are currently 67,808 active cases in the country. Some 1,027 Israelis are hospitalized in serious condition, 387 are in critical condition and 315 are on ventilators.

Nevertheless, according to National Security Council data, 1,027 constitutes the lowest number of serious cases in more than a month.

"We are beginning to see the impact of the vaccination campaign on coronavirus morbidity," Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch said. "I believe the number will continue to drop and we will reach less than a thousand daily serious cases."

The big question is whether vaccines can eradicate the pandemic.

Data from past decades suggest that viruses become endemic and seasonal, Michal Linial, a professor of molecular biology and bioinformatics at Hebrew University said. She predicted this coronavirus would become far less aggressive. "The virus is not going anywhere," she concluded.

Senior epidemic experts estimate that people would be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 once a year, just like the flu vaccine. The main reason behind the need to get vaccinated annually is the constant mutation of the virus, Christine Billings, a pandemic response manager at Jefferson County Public Health, explained.

Just like any other vaccine lasts a year, so does Pfizer's, Executive Director Dr. Mark Johnson added, noting that the elderly might need to receive two vaccinations a year as their immune systems require more strengthening.

At the same time, the Health Ministry is finalizing its plan to encourage more Israelis to get vaccinated by opening certain leisure and culture venues shortly. The ministry's plan is to limit access to restaurants, gyms, cultural and sports events for those who did not get vaccinated, while allowing free entrance for the inoculated who possess a so-called green passport. Access will also be available to Israelis who have tested negative for COVID in the last 48 hours.

In an attempt to encourage more Israelis to get inoculated, the Health Ministry might charge Israelis who refuse to get vaccinated for their COVID tests and reduce the number of testing sites.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein spoke of legislation that would enable employers to prevent unvaccinated employees from working at the office. The minister warned that the rule might apply to the education system as well.

In the meantime, US government researchers found that two masks are better than one in slowing coronavirus spread, but health officials stopped short of recommending that everyone double up.

The researchers found that wearing one mask – surgical or cloth – blocked around 40% of the particles coming toward the head that was breathing in. When a cloth mask was worn on top of a surgical mask, about 80% were blocked. When both the exhaling and inhaling heads were double-masked, more than 95% of the particles were blocked, John Brooks, a doctor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said.

Discussions about double-masking and higher-quality masks are important, Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases scientist at the University of Toronto said. "But if a significant proportion of your population isn't wearing a mask in the first place, then you're having the wrong conversation," he added.

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Every Israeli over the age of 16 is eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccination, the Health Ministry announced on Thursday. This makes Israel the first country in the world to offer immunization to the general public regardless of prioritized risk groups.

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Israel has recorded 671,459 coronavirus cases and 4,947 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020. Some 589,616 Israelis have recovered from the virus.

Health Ministry data showed that so far, 298,233 Israelis have received the first dose of the vaccination, and 1,906,942 have been fully immunized.

The Health Ministry reported of the 85,925 coronavirus tests it administered on Wednesday, 7,358 came back positive.

There are currently 76,896 active cases in the country. Some 1,768 Israelis are hospitalized, 393 are in critical condition, and 315 are on ventilators.

"Take advantage of this opportunity that almost no country in the world has," Health Minister Yuli Edelstein tweeted, calling on the public to get vaccinated. "Come en masse because this is the only way to overcome the coronavirus – together."

The decision to expand the inoculation drive to teens came in the aftermath of a drastic drop in the vaccination rate in recent days, as the vaccination sites that used to have long lines became almost deserted.

"When the campaign started, we used to check every person, according to their appointment and ID," an official as a vaccination site told Israel Hayom. "Now it's much more flexible. After a security check, we let people in and the medical staff can decide whether to vaccinate [that person] or not. From what I saw today, everyone who came got inoculated."

"The only way to exit the lockdown and overcome the pandemic is to continue to get vaccinated with determination and persistence," Director-General of the Health Ministry Professor Hezi Levi said, also calling on the public to get inoculated, adding that "the decrease [in the public's] responsiveness [to get vaccinated] is very worrying."

Meanwhile, the Bedouin sector in Israel refrains from getting vaccinated and even outright refuses to do so. In Rahat, Israel's largest Bedouin city, only 9.8% of the residents have received their vaccinations, 5.1% of them received both doses.

As for the ultra-Orthodox city of Beitar Illit, 9% of its residents have been vaccinated. However, the city has a population of about 65,000 residents, 70% of whom are under the age of 18. Beitar Illit has 992 residents over the age of 60, 600 of whom have already received their vaccinations.

Southern Israeli settlements Lehavim and Omer are leading the country in terms of vaccinations, the local community council announced. As of Wednesday, 65.45% of Lehavim residents have received their vaccination, 47% have received both. As for Omar, 64.62% have been inoculated with the first dose, 46.8% with the second one as well.

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The government convened on Thursday to decide whether to impose new coronavirus restrictions over the Hanukkah holiday. During the meeting, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said the operation to vaccinate Israel's citizens would kick off on Dec. 27.

Ministers were set to discuss a proposal that would forbid Israelis from staying at other people's homes from 5:30 p.m. until midnight starting Thursday evening, the first night of Hanukkah. Violating the ban would constitute a criminal offense and would incur a 500 shekel ($154) fine, according to the proposal, which would make an exemption for, among other things, those providing or receiving an essential product or service, providing or receiving medical treatment, helping someone in need or distress. Exemptions would also be made for minors staying with a parent who lives outside of their home.

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According to the Health Ministry, the purpose of the restriction was to prevent people from gathering in closed spaces.

Finance Minister Israel Katz blasted the Health Ministry's proposal, saying the move was equivalent to "bringing back a lockdown through the backdoor."

The ministers were also set to authorize the conditions for entering a phase of what coronavirus chief Nachman Ash has called "tightened restraint," according to which the government would reimpose a series of coronavirus constrictions if the number of new daily cases tops 2,000 and the rate of reproduction reaches 1.3.

The meeting comes as 1,828 of the 73,146 Israelis who tested for the coronavirus, Wednesday, were found to be carrying the virus, for an infection rate of 2.6%. Israel currently has 5,716 active cases, 318 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 100 are on ventilators. So far, 2,934 people have died.

The ministers were also set to authorize mandating Israelis either enter into quarantine upon entering Israel or take two coronavirus tests. Meanwhile, shopping malls across the country opened their doors to customers on Wednesday, after receiving approval from the cabinet on Tuesday night.

Despite efforts by the Health Ministry to designate the United Arab Emirates a "red" country following the spike in recent infections and growing interest from Israelis interested in visiting the Gulf state, Following pressure from the Foreign Ministry, the United Arab Emirates will continue to be designated as "green" for the coming three weeks at least.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin said he plans to be the first Israeli to receive Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine to encourage others to be inoculated.

Netanyahu made the remarks at a ceremony marking the arrival of the first shipment of the pharmaceutical giant's vaccines at Ben-Gurion International Airport.

In a statement, Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced Israel's healthcare providers would begin vaccinating people on Dec. 27.

He emphasized, "I believe in this vaccine. I expect it to receive the necessary approvals in the coming days, and I want Israel's citizens to be vaccinated. And to that end, I want to set an example, and I intend to be the first in Israel to be inoculated with this vaccine."

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"Health is above everything," Edelstein said in a statement. "A system that has been neglected is receiving today an investment it rightly deserves. We have opened a new page that will move the health system forward."

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The National Association of Nurses has complained for months that the lack of personnel and other resources has left them vulnerable to infection with more than "1,000 staff in quarantine and counting."

Katz said that "there won't be a physician or nurse that is unavailable to work at this hour due to a lack of budget."

In addition, the ministers agreed to add quotas for 700 administrative and health workers who will be assigned to the coronavirus wards in hospitals.

The imminent increase in labor is equivalent to an eight-year recruitment program, the statement read, and is aimed at meeting the coronavirus challenges today and in the winter.

Alongside the addition in manpower, the Health Ministry said it will conduct 60,000 tests per day during the winter.

National Association of Nurses President Ilana Cohen told Kan 11 News on Sunday that the Finance Ministry "should understand that the shortage [of nurses] didn't start with the corona pandemic. The Treasury has to find a way to resolve the situation."

Finance Ministry Director-General Keren Terner-Eyal had met with Cohen on Sunday but they were unable to come to an agreement.

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In that same period, 30,297 corona tests were conducted. As of Tuesday morning, 195 corona patients were hospitalized in serious condition.

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The number of active or symptomatic cases nationwide stood at 22,417 as of Wednesday morning. The death toll since the epidemic first began in Israel stood at 375, and 19,824 people have recovered.

Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch said in an interview to Army Radio on Wednesday that "If the rise in new cases continues, a decision will be made to declare a shutdown by the end of this week or immediately afterward."

Kisch noted that despite the grim overall picture, Tuesday had seen the first drop in the percentage of positive corona tests in a week, from 6.4% on Monday to 5.63%.

"A special meeting was held and we decided to wait three days to see if the steps we have already taken are effective," Kisch said. 

In a related development, the Health Ministry has reached out to former head of the IDF's Planning Directorate, Maj. Gen. Amir Abulafia, and asked him to serve as national project manager in Israel's fight against coronavirus.

Abulafia was contacted by Health Ministry Director-General Professor Hezi Levi, with approval from Health Minister Yuli Edelstein.

Over the past few days, the top echelon of the ministry has held a number of meetings with Abulafia and promised him that he would be given their full support and have everything he needs if he agreed to take on the job.

According to reports, Abulafia's main concern is that the current arrangement – or lack thereof – will not give him the ability to stabilize the nation's efforts to combat coronavirus, including epidemiological research, quarantines, and preparations for the wave expected this coming winter. 

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Ben-Shabbat asked the government to close down synagogues, yeshivas, public pools, gyms, summer camps, and restaurants.

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However, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said in the meeting that given how his ministry's recommendations were being hacked away at, "there would be no option but to declare a full shutdown."

"I was among those who opposed a shutdown, but I studied the dynamic. The recommendations the Health Ministry presents are cut back more and more until in the end even the steps we approved last week were not dramatic."

According to Edelstein, "In the end, all we did was stop weddings and cut back on restaurant activity. With steps like these, there is no chance we'll see a decrease in new cases, so I suggest we start talking about a full shutdown. If we don't see a change in the numbers within three days – we'll have to go there."

The Health Ministry's assessment at the end of the meeting was that the next few days won't see the number of new cases drop, and that the cabinet will have to launch the procedure of closing down the country in its Sunday meeting.

In closed-door talks, Edelstein discussed cases of coronavirus being spread at high school graduation parties (held privately) and a decision by the chairwoman of the Knesset Corona committee MK Yifat Shasha-Biton to allow pools and gyms to open, against Health Ministry recommendations and against the position of the government.

"There was always a demand that we allow graduation parties in schools, and I said I wasn't willing to allow them. There is no scientific proof and could not have been before it happened. It was just common sense. Numbers are important, but they're not the only thing," the health minister added.

Edelstein spoke up in favor of a full shutdown after Prime Minister-Designate Benny Gantz expressed opposition to the restrictions Ben-Shabbat proposed. Gantz, who is in quarantine and participated in the meeting via a video connection, said that the government needed to take action, but he thought that at this stage, there was no reason to enact additional restrictions.

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would work to persuade Gantz to agree to the new steps, since without support from the Blue and White leader, the cabinet would be unable to approve them.

Professor Ran Balicer, head of Clalit Health Services' innovation project, also participated in the meeting and said that the biggest challenge facing Israel's health care system was not a lack of equipment or hospital beds, but a shortage of personnel.

"The most important thing at this time is to add staff," Balicer said.

Balicer called a full national shutdown a "doomsday weapon" and said that it was not an action that could be implemented for a short period of time, and warned that it would have major ramifications not only for the economy but for public health.

Another official who took part in the meeting said there had been "agreement that we are approaching the limit of the health care system's capacity, with hundreds of serious cases [expected] in the next few weeks."

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Despite the dire picture painted at the meeting, director of Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Professor Ronni Gamzu, is saying that Israel's hospitals are not under threat of imminent collapse and will continue to treat everyone needing medical care.

"I want the decision-making and the backbone of Ichilov [hospital] to give decision-makers the power to handle the battle [against corona] wisely, without anyone being afraid I'm going to collapse," he told hospital workers on Tuesday.

"We care about our friends who lost their jobs and about the economy and about businesses failing. Therefore we at Ichilov will not be the first to call for a shutdown or the first to say there is an increase in the number of patients on ventilators. All the anarchists on social media who spread this fake news should take a seat," he continued.

On Wednesday, the hospital was slated to open a separate emergency room for corona patients, with an adjacent treatment unit with 34 beds to serve patients in non-serious condition.

Sourasky Medical Center is also working to open two corona wards and an intensive care unit for corona patients. Two patients are currently on ventilators at the hospital. 

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In addition to the immediate shuttering of bars, night clubs, gyms, event venues, and cultural events, the number of diners in restaurants will be limited to 20 indoors and 30 outdoors. Hotels are under orders to close their bars, pools, and limit the number of guests using the dining hall at any one time.

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Attendance at synagogues was capped at 19 worshippers.

Government and public services will be staffed at 30% capacity. Organized summer activities will be capped at groups of up to 20 children. Professional sports will take place without live crowds.

The Transportation Ministry announced that buses would continue to operate as usual, despite proposals to restrict passenger loads to 20 and a suggestion that buses not operate air-conditioning.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev said late Monday that she had met with public transportation operators and she intended to decide on a framework for the operation of buses that would meet public health regulations. Regev said that the voucher system for Israel Railways, which requires travelers to order tickets ahead of time, had "proven itself" and would remain in place.

Earlier Monday, Edelstein told the cabinet that "If we don't act on the Health Ministry's proposal today, next week we will have to decide on a full shutdown."

"Every single aspect of the decision affects the lives of many citizens – their income, their leisure time, and their lifestyles. This cannot be dismissed. Indeed, an integral part of the cabinet's decision is to provide aid to businesses that will be hurt, and I'm happy that the prime minister has instructed the finance minister to present a plan within 48 hours," Edelstein said at the press conference.

"The equation is simple: if the number of cases drops, the economy is strengthened; if the number goes up, it will cause major damage to the economy. To save lives, and save the economy, we must flatten the curve," the minister said.

"The tough steps the government has taken today give us hope that in a week or two, we won't need to declare a long-term full shutdown. No one wants that," he added.

Edelstein said that the battle against coronavirus was "complicated" and that the virus's behavior could not always be anticipated. He called corona "a slippery enemy."

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Edelstein went on to say he had appointed a director of the war on corona in the Health Ministry, who would be charged with overseeing the big picture, from the nation's testing to cutting off outbreaks.

Edelstein also apologized to members of the public who had not been able to have their needs met by the authorities. He announced that the Health Ministry's hotlines were being assigned additional staff to handle calls from citizens quarantined as a result of Shin Bet security agency phone tracking.

Soldiers from the IDF Homefront Command would also be stepping in to help staff the hotlines, the minister said. 

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